Quite Unexpected
by iwantyourovaries
Summary: And now I, some random girl from Philly, am a lioness. An animated lioness. Makes total sense. Just your normal pre-college vacation to Africa gone slightly awry.
1. Arrival

I looked over the slowly rotating baggage carousel, the spinning conveyor belt making me slightly dizzy. I bounced on the balls of my feet as I combed the masses of black suitcases. Finally, I saw the camouflage back pack slide heavily from the chute. Shouldering my way into the front of the crowd, I let out a heavy sigh. The sigh contained all of the anxiety and frustration of traveling overseas, which was quite a pain, if you asked me. After heaving the massive sigh, I felt much better, even though I hadn't eaten anything since Philadelphia, nearly 13 hours ago.

My father had been in the military until he recently retired, so I was used to traveling, although I never had enjoyed the plane rides. _Finally, done with the journey!_ I thought with jubilation as I hoisted the backpack easily, even though it was quite heavy, packed with clothes and entertainment. I was so happy as I took the first few steps of my pre-college journey to see the world that I almost tripped, but thank god, my reputation was saved by _not _tripping down that quite long flight of stairs. Descending the more habitual way, I exited the automatic doors with my dignity intact.

Seeing as it was about 6:00 am, the city was just waking up, and I was greeted with a rush of the warm, dry outside air, and the view of a beautiful African sunrise. It sounds like such an over-used cliché, and impossible to boot, but my breath caught in my throat for a brief instant, and my jaw dropped. I noticed the ebony thunderclouds, indicator of a huge storm coming- the air crackled with electricity, but it probably wouldn't start for a while, I hoped.

Luckily, there were only a few people out and about, so I had no problem whatsoever finding the car and driver I'd rented to take me to some friends of the family, who lived about two hours into the countryside. The sign the driver was holding up helped too. I'd looked at numerous car sites, but apparently the webmasters for them were expert photo-stagers- the grungy driver and grimy car were far from the pictures of sparkling clean perfection on the site.

"You Jack Passmore?" asked the lethargic driver unhappily, then did a double take as he took in my red hair, green eyes, and, well, chest. "Yous a girl!" he exclaimed, momentarily shocked out of his sleepiness.

"Oh dear _God_ I am!" I exclaimed sardonically, not really surprised. My mother just loved the damn name. Which meant that their healthy baby _girl_ was named Jack. Better than being named Hubert, I suppose. Thankfully Jacky was a perfectly acceptable girls nickname, or I would have had to get into a lot more fights in high school.

"Grumblemubledy" he said something, though God only knows what, which I took for "Get in the car"

So I got in the passenger seat of the car, because I'm just really docile like that, and tightened my hand on the can of MACE in my purse, 'cause like I said- I'm docile.

He got in the driver's seat, and we sped off. Well, it was more like we rambled off, because I don't believe that 20 miles per hour can really qualify as_ sped_.

And to make my day, halfway through the drive, which had been spent on blasting '80s rock music, and _extremely_ loud singing on the part of the driver, we got a flat tire _and_ the engine overheated. Yay.

"Humph." He judged, leaning back on his ankles. Heaving a sigh that could've rivaled mine earlier that day, he informed me roughly that it was "gunna take least an' hour."

I ahh'd, and didn't really know what else to say, so I escaped the cloud of noxious smoke emanating from the engine by climbing the hill next to the road. A clash of thunder greeted me at the top of the hill as I surveyed the land. It looked like the pictures I'd seen of Africa, the savannahs stretching on, seemingly forever, with clear, small streams winging their way through the land.

It was dark now, the storm was starting, evident by the flash of lightning, and the clap of thunder that seemed like it was at the same time. A tree right below me burst into fire, and I emitted a sharp little yelp of surprise before stumbling back. This hill looked like the highest point for miles, with no other trees on it. More precisely, I supposed _I_ was the highest point for miles. I felt a moment of pride, it was pretty cool, and then my brain cells kicked in.

_Run_ my brain screamed, and I remembered 8th grade Robotics &Electricity. Lightning travels to the path of least resistance…the highest point. Shit. I started running to the car. To do so, I had to run across the peak, which looking back, probably wasn't a very good idea.

I sprinted across the peak, and leaped for safe, low ground. Too late. I felt a moment of excruciating pain, smelled burnt flesh and hair, and heard the rumbling sound of thunder, impossibly loud, surrounding me, enveloping me. I hit the ground with a muffled thud. Ouch.

My vision was beyond blurry, and I saw a flash of bright green, golden, and red. Everything then went completely and exceptionally black.


	2. Explanation

**A/n: this is my first work: I can't even figure out how to edit the first chapter to include this note! Anyway- I would adore some reviews, please =] **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Lion King. I only own Jacky. And cookies.**

"Nwuhhh…." I blearily tried to swim through the thick black, but I was failing. Quite epically, seeing that I was stationary, and was probably going to stay that way until I woke up. I attempted to open my eyes, which actually worked, to my great surprise. Not without a price, however. Yellow and red stars burst in my eyes, as a let out a whimper of pain. I tried shaking my head to clear my eyes, which turned out to by a fan-freaking-tastic idea. I let a much louder moan of extreme pain.

"Low threshold for pain?" asked a low, obviously male voice behind me. H sounded amused, but disapproving. Now that my eyes were clear, I could see the rough, stone wall of a warm, dry cave. Other than the agony, which was receding pretty quickly, I was actually quite comfy.

"I like to think of it less of a threshold, and more of a large, tastefully decorated foyer, actually." I mumbled, gingerly trying to sit up. My limbs were completely and totally out of whack, and I felt like I was drunk- I had almost no control over my arms and legs, and I felt gangly and freakish. Oh god, it was Middle School all over again.

"Oof!" I gasped as I fell over from my half-sitting position, and hit my back. I hissed in shock, and the brief surge in adrenaline due to the pain was enough to get me off my fat arse- I rolled over, and jumped up. Only to yell and recoiled in shock. Lions. _Animated_ lions. Like waking up to three lions looking at me wasn't shocking enough, of course they had to be animated.

I'm not talking about "Oh my goodness gracious, the lions were just so majestic they looked otherworldly!" either. They were full out animated. Like…oh god, no. _Not_ like The Lion King.

Because that light cream colored one, the one with the aquamarine eyes, and the weathered, but proud look couldn't be Nala.

And the other lioness with the vibrant golden fur and amber eyes wasn't Kiara. I hadn't seen her face countless times as I watched and re-watched The Lion King original and sequel.

And, lets just get this straight, the mocha colored lion with the darker brown mane, and the green eyes definitely, with out a doubt, wasn't Kovu. Haha, of course not! Except they were all looking at me, confusion at my reaction in their various colored eyes. Oh, boy. I was in so much trouble. At the moment, I was only capable of babbling incoherently, so I just gaped. Ow. Damn jaw.

At this precise moment, I became aware of just how crazy I sounded, thankya very much. I drew my head back towards my back in equal parts of fear, awe, and pure terror. In the process, I peeked down for a split second. It was all it took for me to collapse uselessly. _I_ was animated. _Me_, Jack Brier Passmore. And I had paws. I, quite honestly, wasn't sure which problem took more precedence- the fact that I was a lion, or the fact that I was an animated lion. Since the latter problem enveloped both problems, I chose that one.

"I hope, for once, that I actually _am_ drunk." I muttered, almost hoping to go back to sleep and wake up with a splitting headache.

"Um, sorry? Didn't catch that?" questioned Kiara, looking pretty confused.

"Sorry, just muttering to myself," I replid quietly, then couldn't take it anymore, "Erm, you wouldn't, y'know, just _happen_ to be named Kiara, would you?"

"Yes," she answered, looking at the cream lioness- oh this is useless. Kiara looked at Nala and Kovu with confusion plain on her face, "Have I met you before?"

"No." I said, deflating against the wall. This was actually happening. I had always been able to accept almost everything except the extremely bizarre, like a picture I'd seen of Batman riding an elephant. That was strange. This was one of those bizarre situations, and I was still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing. Thankfully it was starting to work.

I began to organize the situation, pacing back and forth, the other lions temporarily forgotten. "All right, Jacky. You're a lion in The Lion King, and no way to get back. The source of the problem seems to be the lightning. Maybe getting struck by lightning again would do the trick, but it's definitely a last resort." I sighed as I stretched, quickly getting used to being on all fours.

I felt jittery, like I could run to forever and back before feeling tired. Shaking my paws, the weirdest statement I've ever thought, I turned my attention back to the royal family, minus Simba. Except only Kovu was there, and I could see the retreating backs of Kiara and Nala, probably going to hunt or something.

"Who are you?" questioned Kovu, and I recognized the voice I'd heard earlier. He still sounded very better-than-thou, so this was probably directly after the second movie. That would explain the attitude.

I lifted my chin, not intimidated. "Jacky." I refrained from the classic 'Bond. James Bond.', if only with assistance of the potential of years of therapy this experience would incur.

"If you are even considering hurting any of this pride, then you have another thought coming." He said in a quiet voice, with a hint of a snarl.

My anger flared slightly, "You weren't exactly one to talk a month ago." I replied with an equal amount of snarkiness. _Damn it, Jacky! Play nice!_ I scolded myself, and saw Kovu visibly recoil slightly, then get straight in my face.

"You don't know me. I would die to protect this pride!" his voice rose to a roar on 'pride', and he glared at me.

I closed my eyes, and blew air out my nose, trying to cool my anger. "You're right, I'm sorry." I replied, looking him straight in the eyes, clenching my jaw and tightening my muscles in frustration. I was hungry, and tired, and this boded ill for anyone in my way. But I had to chill.

"Um," he looked shocked- did I really look like I had _that_ bad manners? "Yeah, okay."

"Kovu!" a lion with the same fur and eyes as Kiara bounded into the cave, his red mane flopping messily across his face. I knew that this was Simba, the king.


	3. Hodari

A/n: I'm really pumped for some reason! But hopefully I'll crank out some more chapters, eh?

Kovu whipped around, his dark brown mane flying. "Simba!" he exclaimed, eyes wide. He had the faint air of a little boy with his hand stuck in the cookie jar.

Simba hadn't noticed me, and to be perfectly honest, I'd rather not have this huge lion notice me, even if I knew he-probably- wouldn't hurt me. Simba was more muscular than the movies would have you believe. Not hugely, grossly muscled, but he was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

"The lionesses brought down a few impalas, and they're waiting outside. I also found a few paw prints and a male scent at the watering hole. Do you think it could be an intruder?" Simba burbled until this last sentence. I'd always thought of him as very happy and cheerful, if slightly protective, but as he uttered the last part, I saw the protective side of him, but mixed with a dark anger.

It was pretty scary, and in that moment, I wondered how Zira could've kept her bravery in face of this anger.

"Was it Hodari?" questioned Kovu, pronouncing the strange name like hoe-dare-ee.

"Let's hope." answered Simba, the anger dissipating to make way for hope. The rage was still there, but lessening steadily.

I tried to edge out of the cave, seeing as I was near-ish to the opening, but the sudden movement caught Simba's attention.

"Hello," he smiled, looking stressed and distant, that weird anger vanished almost completely. He sent a questioning look towards Kovu, as in asking, "Who's she?". I'm pretty sure he thought I was an Outlander. "You're free to join the dinner too." He seemed a tad cold, but I shrugged it off. Thank god he forgot me- his mane must've been the red that I saw when I blacked out.

"Erm, thanks," I replied, flashing a quick, uncertain smile, "But, um, I was thinking of getting a drink really quick."

With that, and a quick nod toward the two lions, I walked out of the cave, remarkably steady, seeing that I'd only consciously had this form for about ten minutes.

The bright African sun blinded me for a few seconds, then my eyes adjusted, much quicker than my human eyes would've. The Pridelands could only have been described as one word- magnificent. The greens and golds of the land were generously littered with Acacia and Baobab trees, and slightly muddy blue creeks wound through it all. There was a patch on the other side of the largest river that was burnt and dead.

If I really concentrated on it, then I could see new, green, sprouts reaching towards the sky.

I looked a little closer, and saw a group of lionesses approaching from the right, dragging some deer-looking animals with long horns to this rock where I was standing. Pride rock. Whoa, brain blast. But I saw a quite large pond to the left from my perch near the tip of Pride rock, which I assumed was the water hole. Bounding down some rather convenient stone steps, I headed to the left.

I quickly approached the water hole. Being a lion was really fast, and I was surprised to find that I could actually run with out tripping. _Almost as if I'd already been a lion._ Something about that struck home, but I brushed it off. It had only been an excuse, but I found that I was actually pretty thirsty.

Leaning down, I lapped a few mouthfuls, enough to fully sat my thirst. I looked at the water, and almost yelped again. I could see a habit forming in that I yelped to much, and I made a note to try to not yelp quite as much.

Staring back at me was a lioness, which I had subconsciously steeled myself for, but what I wasn't ready for was the color.

The best description was probably strawberry blonde, but it was more of a dark red, blended with gold I looked brown at the moment though- I had dirt ground into my fur, probably from how ever I came here. My eyes were still green, looking almost like a lime green. I looked very surprised.

"Who're you?" a voice asked behind me.

I managed not to yelp, but I tripped, and fell into the water hole. Hey, you win some, you lose some. I paddled my paws furiously, attempting to stay afloat, but I went under- I didn't know how to swim as a lion, and I fell into a deep part. Just my luck. I held my breath, a few bubbles escaping my mouth as I looked around the clear water.

Sharp teeth closed on my neck, the extra skin on it- the scruff- stretching. I tried to help my helper by clawing my way up the slight stone ledge that protruded a bit into the water.

As I was heaved, gasping for air, onto the ridge, I looked up weakly. I hadn't really slept that well since I'd been in pain,, and this little adventure had left me drained. I saw a worried lion's face above me, framed by the sun. At first I thought it was Simba, but then I realized that this lion was much paler, a cross between Nala and Simba, and had a shorter mane- a few inches shorter than Kovu's, I'd think.

I tried to answer, but ended up retching some water onto the shore. Wiping my mouth on my foreleg, I sat, wanting to lie down again, but not wanting to look too lazy.

"Th-thanks," I shuddered- that water had been pretty chilly.

"No problem," he answered uncomfortably, shifting on his paws.

"What's you're name?" I asked, confused about why he looked so unsettled. _And why are you so antsy?_ I'd like to have added, but I refrained.

"Um, Hodari." He responded, "Sorry to be rude, but do you know where Simba's pride is?"

"Yeah, it's the huge rock. Ya can't miss it." Especially since he was facing it, since I was sitting with my back to it, and he was looking at me.

I saw him visibly relax. "So not Zira's pride, right?" he asked hesitantly.

"Nope, we defeated them." I responded, using _'we'_ just in case he didn't know that I wasn't actually part of the pride.

He blew and anxious sigh out of his nose, reminding me of myself, and he relaxed further.

"I know your name is Hodari, but _who_ are you?" I asked, then something clicked. The name. I thought it as he said it.

"The prince."

_Simba's son._

They meant the same the same thing. I was just seeing royalty everywhere today.

"I don't remember you. What's _your_ name?" he asked shrewdly, cocking his head.

"Jacky. And I just came here." I answered quietly.


	4. Hodari's story

"Oh, okay," He said to my response, obviously still wondering what I was doing there, "Do you want to walk back to Pride Rock with me?" he asked, slightly hopefully.

No. But I couldn't be that ruthless- I'd like to walk with him, I just didn't want to go back. I forced a smile. "Thanks, but I was going to get another drink first- you go on ahead."

He gave me a little grin, and I suddenly got the impression that he was a jokester, but took his responsibility seriously. It was kind of hot. _Anyway_, going back to my rational, non-rambling mind now, I turned, and started to drink as I heard him lope away.

Not hearing him anymore, I quit drinking. I looked around, wondering where I was going to sleep, since I didn't want to go back there.

Eyeing an Acacia tree with a low-hanging branch, I clawed my way up there. Seeing a thick branch, I settled there. My last thought before surrendering to sleep was that I hoped not to be completely embarrassed by falling out of the tree.

Hodari's POV

Wow. That's all I could think as I jogged back to Pride Rock. Jacky. I rolled the weird name around my mind, wondering what it meant. As I skidded to a stop in front of the huge monolith that was my home, I felt comfort, a welcoming aura that reached out from my home.

"Hodari!" my mother called, running from her dinner to greet me happily. She gave me a warm hug, then smacked me over the head.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, "What was that for?"

"For making me and your father worry sick for a week." She scolded, and tried to hit me again, but I dodged quickly.

Cries of, "Hordari!", and "You're back!" echoed throughout the crowd of lionesses.

Silence fell as my father quickly walked up, and gave me a hug, "What happened?" he asked, his amber eyes, the same color as mine, and my older (by one minute) sister's eyes, filled with worry, but he was happy that I was home, I could see that.

"I tripped." I admitted sheepishly. I relived that night briefly in my head.

We had just gotten the message that Simba was in trouble! I remembered thinking that I had to get there as fast as I could. I had launched myself off the last few steps, and started running to the border as fast as I could. As I did, I remembered a small shortcut that would take me straight to there! It was dangerous, since it was right next to the gorge, but I had to try.

The sleeting rain didn't help the visibility as I slipped in the mud. I had almost reached the sound of my dad's growls when I saw that the river was swollen, roaring like an angry tiger in the gorge. I disregarded this, but continued to barrel, full force down the path. The cliffs were less high here than it was near where Simba was fighting, but it was still daunting.

With horror gripping his stomach, he saw everything in one moment. Kovu and Kiara were frozen on the other side, and Zira was facing down Simba. Perhaps the most horrifying thing was the closest thing- the path was washed out, but he tried to jump the distance. It didn't work. He fell only a few inches short of the jump, but luckily he landed on a shelf about five feet below. He wasn't so lucky, though, when the flooded river rushed at him, sweeping him away from his home.

His head knocked against something, because the next thing he remembered was laying on sand and grass, feeling the water lap at his toes. He'd slowly wandered back, following the river, and letting his wounds heal. He was blessed with a hardy constitution, and he got better quickly, finally finding the Pridelands eight days later. And Jacky. His mind was still wondering about that entrancing lioness, such a strange color! She was so pretty, yet so fierce.

Drawing his mind away from her, he told his tale to the rapt crowd, with little interruptions, except from his family.

"I'm glad your safe." Purred his mother, as Kiara barreled into his side for a hug, knocking them both over.

"Ditto!" Kiara voiced her opinion, getting up off the ground.

He laughed, but felt so tired as he watched the sunset. He made his way into the den with all of his family, joking and laughing, but as he settled down to sleep, he wondered, _Where's Jacky?_

Jacky's POV

I was up a tree. Quite literally. No idioms, I swear. As I got down from the tree, I stretched long and slow, purring slightly. It was fun to purr- it felt like I had twenty bees in my throat, and they all decided to buzz about. I purred again, trying to vary the different pitches in my voice.

It was like this that I came into the little oasis of the water hole. There were baby antelope and gazelle on the opposite side, playing in the water as their parents gossiped. I saw a pair of giraffes leaving as I lapped at the water. The hunger just proved something- I was hungry.

Starving, in fact, and it felt like my stomach was trying to eat itself. I sighed. I was going have to go to pride rock. Not that they weren't nice, but I was human. They were lions. We didn't have anything I knew of in common. This really felt like the first day at a new school- I didn't know anyone, except for the ones named in the movies. I set my shoulders, determined. I could do this. I hoped.


	5. Pride Rock

**A/n: Reviews make me so happy! I'm gonna try to write one more chapter before dinner! **

Jacky's POV

I shook each of my paws separately, hoping to get rid of a few of the nerves. Bending my neck from side to side, I cursed myself. _Stop stalling, Jacky, you can do this_.

I closed my eyes, and took the first step. Not so bad. I opened them, and took another. And a few more steps, until I was slowly walking to the rock. At least I hadn't sunk to the level of nervousness where I was calling Pride Rock 'the huge rock'. Wait, I'd already said that, when I'd told Hodar- _Prince_ Hodari where Simba's pride was. Oops. Well, yeah, I was nervous.

Luckily, when I was about halfway to Pride Rock, a party of lionesses and what looked like a few cubs tumbling about in the dust departed from the shade of the rock, and it looked like they were heading towards the water hole for their mid-morning drink. If I had cubs, I'd want a happy hour this early too.

As they got closer, I saw that Nala was at the lead, and as far as I could tell, gossiping about something or another with Sarabi, Simba's mom, who looked like Hodari in coloring, actually. She had pale, almost washed-out gold fur, but with more silver around the face.

I passed right by them quietly, hoping not to be noticed, even though it felt like walking across a room alone- self-conscious and awkward.. It was next to impossible for me not to be noticed, though. In this world of tawny and gold lionesses, my red fur stood out like a sore thumb. The brief, spontaneous swim in the water hole yesterday had cleansed my fur from dirt, but it still stood out at odd angles in places, the result of sleeping in a tree with damp fur.

Whispers and murmurs exploded in the group as I passed with my head down, and Nala, stirred from her chat, looked up and around to find the source. Seeing me, she bounded to my side, and motioned for the rest of the group to continue.

"Come on, ladies," came Sarabi's deep, reassuring voice from the front, "If we get there sooner, the sooner we hunt, so the sooner we eat!"

At this, the cubs started to urge the lionesses on as well, convinced that if you couldn't eat it, pounce on it, or play with it, it wasn't worth wasting time over.

"Where were you last night?" inquired Nala curiously, starting to walk back toward Pride Rock. Apparently, foreign visitors overpowered thirst at the moment.

"At the water hole." I stated, a slightly defiant tone creeping into my voice. I winced, and made a mental note to lose the attitude, but I lifted my chin.

"Why?" she asked simply, stopping. I turned and sat across from her, my back towards Pride Rock.

"I was exhausted," I lied, not wanting to tell her that I hadn't wanted to go back because I'd be different. "I, uh, fell in the water hole, so I was really bushed."

"Ah," she nodded, and then asked, "Your name is Jacky, right? Hodari told us about you."

I nodded, and she looked pleased for having the right sources of information. She stood, and started to walk towards Pride Rock, and I quickly followed, lengthening my strides to catch up with her.

"I trust that you'll be spending the night here tonight? She asked, though it was more of a command than an actual question. Hmm, what a choice. On one hand, I could refuse, and maybe get thrown out of the Pridelands, and lead a lonely, solitary life until I die as a lion. On the other side, I could potentially have friends, and be safe, and maybe even figure out how to turn back.

Guess which one I chose? You betcha- I nodded at her, confirming that I would be sleeping there tonight. Smiling at herself, Nala turned towards the water hole.

"You know where the pride is- just tell Simba I'll explain when I get back!" She called this over her shoulder as she ran towards the oasis to catch up to the other lionesses.

I was a little worried about going there alone. Scratch that, I was a lot worried. Like oh-my-god-a-freight-train-is hurtling-towards-me-at-120-MPH-and-I'm-tied-to-the-tracks worried.

Giving myself I quick pep talk, I started to stride towards the giant rock, which was probably about 300 feet away by now.

When I came around from the back of Pride Rock, I saw at three young lionesses, who looked to be about my age, laying in the shade.

Walking up to them with false confidence, I flashed a smile. "Hi, my name's Jacky."

They smiled at me and said their names in turn. I tried to memorize the names, and attach a face and description to each name.

The one with dark brown fur, almost black, was Uma. She had a friendly look about her, and her brown eyes were welcoming.

The second was Teso; she had pale fur, like a tub of whipped cream mixed with the faintest tinge of brown. She also seemed very nice, if a bit wary.

The final one was laying on top of a rock, looking like a reigning queen. She had luxurious, caramel colored fur with orangy-red eyes that glinted at me coldly. She seemed very haughty, and told me her name was Malia. She said this in a very get-out-of-my-land-and-don't-let-the-door-hit-you-on-the-way out manner, complete with the eyeroll at the end of her little speech, just for my benefit.

Ooo, I was so lucky. I just smiled at the other two though. "Do you guys mind if I sit here?" I asked.

"Sure," said Uma, scooting over to give me some room. Both Uma and Teso looked scrawny and underfed while Malia looked as sleek as a seal. I would've bet my life that Uma and Teso used to be Outlanders, and Malia was a Pridelander. If anything, I'd have thought that the Outlanders would be witchy, while the Pridelander would be nice, but it just goes to show that stereotypes are usually wrong.

I settled in the space that Uma had vacated for me, a spot in the sun, and looked around to survey the pride. I heard a few voices emanating from the cave, probably lionesses, and saw Simba and Kovu headed towards the rock a distance away, dragging a white-and-black striped body- a zebra. Breakfast. I also saw Hodari, the trademark red mane passed on in the royal family recognizable anywhere, wrestling with another lion.

At a glance, I could see that this lion was darker than Simba, but lighter than Kovu. He had a black mane, but with my super-cool lion sight, I saw that he had dark blue eyes. He looked quite handsome to me, but I didn't know lion standards very well.

I watched as Hodari bumped him over the head with a paw, pinned him, and then completely just sat on him. I started to laugh. The other lionesses just looked at me, until I gestured at the defeated lion. As the friendly two started to laugh, even Malia glanced over and gave them a slightly amused smile.

It may not sound funny, but until you've seen a lion sit on another lion and not even giggled, you've been missing out on some quality entertainment!

Hodari's POV

As I sat smugly atop Kono, my wrestling partner, I felt him shake with laughter.

"Get off, fatty!" he grinned, as I just looked at him.

"Say the magic words." I replied, not budging a muscle.

He sighed heavily. "Fine, Hodari is the best, and I am so awful at wrestling that I should just smash my head against Pride Rock until I become a better wrestler."

As I smiled, satisfied, I heard a laugh echo across the morning air. I looked over at Malia's group, and saw a light russet lioness laughing, looking at us merrily. Jacky.

"Ooh, new meat," smiled Kono, also noticing Jacky, and winked at her. She had the others laughing as well, and even Malia smiled. I gritted my teeth and slightly unsheathed my paws in a moment of anger. Whoa. Hodari, breathe. I grinned at Jacky, and sheathed my claws again, the puzzling fury gone, forcibly removed by my more rational mind.

I batted his head again, and stepped off of his lungs. "Womanizer," I teased. With his good looks, Kono always had the lionesses swooning over him.

"Yep," he said with another grin. "How long do you think it'll take for this one to start making ga-ga eyes?" He asked, a bit arrogant, but I was used to it.

I forced out a laugh, "Who knows?" I asked rhetorically, while thinking, _hopefully never._

**A/n: a bit more angsty at the end here, one of the longer chapters!**


	6. Malia

A/n: just wanted to say thanks to my reviewers! Azdgari, The LionESS-232, and MonoHell- big hypothetical hugs all around!

Chapter 6

Jacky's POV

I watched as the two lions made their way over. Looking at Uma and Teso, I saw that they were subtly eyeing up the lion with the black mane.

"Who's that?" I asked, realizing that most of the indicators that indicated _interest_ were the same throughout the animal kingdom; the self-conscious shifting, the peeks through the corners of the eyes. They were all the same.

"That's Kono." Uma giggled slightly. I'd pegged her for a slightly less flighty girl, but hey, hormones are the devils curse: they can change a personality within minutes.

I saw Teso grin and duck her head, trying to hide her own giggles.

Malia looked…greedy. She was eyeing Hodari like a haunch of zebra. Believe it or not, a zebra really sounded appetizing right then. This instinct made me pull an internal "ew" face, but I digress.

Craning my neck, I spotted Simba and Kovu dumping their prey at the base of pride rock, then lay in the sun next to it, soaking up the rays. From the opposite direction, the group of lionesses seemed to be heading back- they were about halfway here.

"Hello there," purred a deep voice. Turning, I saw this Kono character flop down besides me, a smirk slowly creeping over his face. "And what could your name be?"

"It could be any number of names from millions of names possible." I answered, smiling myself. "But it just happens to be Jacky. And are you Kono?" I asked, tilting my head, questioningly.

He grinned fully now, not just a half-smirk. "Well-informed, aren't you?"

I nodded and looked at Hodari. "Hey," I greeted him as he too lay down, in between Uma and me.

He smiled, and a cloud rolled out of the way of the sun.

"Warm!" I exclaimed, rolling onto my back, careful not to squish anyone. Feeling the sun warm my darkish fur quickly, I purred, sounding liking a helicopter.

As the others followed suit, Malia stood abruptly. "I'm going to eat," she said suddenly, but the haughtiness remained, although it was lessened from before. "Anyone with me?"

"Sure thing," replied Kono, scrambling to his feet.

"Anyone else up for it?" she asked once more, drilling Hodari with her eyes. The look was lost on him as he wriggled his feet, happy to be warm.

"Nuh-uh" I said lazily, feeling lethargic in the heat. As other noises answered, none of them 'yes', she stalked over to the zebra, and tore a bit out, Kono doing the same. I closed my eyes, and enjoyed the sun.

I didn't notice that the lionesses had returned until I felt a fuzzy ball of fur slam into my side. "Oomph!" I grunted, taken by surprise.

"Oops!" came a high-pitched voice, probably a girl cub's voice. Cracking my eyes open, I saw my suspicions were confirmed-it was a little girl cub that looked almost exactly like Nala. The only two differences that I could see were that she had Zira's color, and a white underbelly.

"Hpaya!" Hodari smiled happily at the youngster, apparently named Hpaya, when he could stop laughing at my misfortune to be a living equivalent of walls at ice rinks- when people can't stop, they just slam into them. The others still hadn't stopped laughing yet. Traitors. "This is Kovu's little sister," he explained to me.

"Sorry," she told me sheepishly, glancing up to see if I was mad. When I started laughing along with the others, she grinned happily. Turning to Hodari, she gave him a big hug, then started jumping on top of him. "Tell me what happened when you disappeared!" she yelled excitedly, nearly shrieking when he made a face, but agreed.

Somehow the other three cubs appeared out of thin air to gather as Hodari told his story. As he told the tale, I found myself listening closely, just as enthralled as the little ones. At the end, however I found my thought wandering, my mouth watering as I glanced toward the zebra.

"…And that's how I got back here." He finished with a smile.

I stood abruptly. "I'm sorry, but that zebra is calling my name, and I intend to answer. Care to join me?" I asked Hodari, as the cubs wandered back to their moms.

"Sure." He answered, apparently as hungry as I was. I hurried towards the final ribs left of zebra meat, everyone sated for breakfast. Hodari and I walked to them quickly, me keeping a protective eye on those ribs. If Kono couldn't wait until the huntresses came back with more meat, he was going to have to suck it up.

"Ha!" I exclaimed happily. "These our all ours! Everyone else has already eaten!" I was salivating a bit, and even though that's not graceful or ladylike at all, I hadn't eaten in two days. These ribs looked like a feast.

Hodari smiled evilly as he snagged the ribs in his mouth and proceeded to sprint away. No! My lovely meal! I narrowed my eyes as I sprinted after him. After I had chased him for a good 15 minutes, I grew tired, yelling, "Come back here you evil little--" my opinion on exactly what he was, and where he was headed if he didn't give me the food, was prevented from being voiced as he turned quickly in an attempt to throw me off. I sprung at him, and bowled him over, both of us laughing as I plucked the meat from his mouth.

"Mine." I mumbled though the mouth of zebra. Sitting down, now behind the rock, we tore the meat to pieces, and savored it. Cleaning my face, or trying to, I stood up. It was past noon now- I'd say about two-ish. As I went back to the front of Pride rock, Hodari and I met up with the little group we had already formed- Uma, Teso, Kono, and Malia. We whiled away the afternoon and evening, and when night came, everyone stood to stretch and start off to bed.

Simba hadn't noticed me yet, and Nala was content with grilling me tomorrow about where I'd come from. Everyone had gone to bed- I'd thought. As I tiredly entered the cave, I heard a voice behind me. "You. Jacky. Come here." The imperious voice of Malia cut into my tired stupor. I sighed, and turned.

"What?" I snapped, my temper short from the long day. Trust me, when you've just been turned into a lion, it's a long day.

Standing at the entrance to the cave, we faced off. Taking an aggressive step into my 'personal bubble', she snarled into my face. "I'm the one Simba and Nala choose to betroth Hodari to. _Don't _mess that up. He's _mine. _I'm the next Queen."

"Why don't you let _him_ decide?" I asked coldly, taking a step towards her. I was built stockier than her, and I towered over her. She narrowed her eyes at me, and smiled maliciously. "Yes. Lets do just that" she whispered bitingly, and swept into the cave. I followed, curling up with my back to Hodari. When I woke up, our backs were pressed together and I felt safe.

**A/n: No! Malia is moving in on Hodari! Oh dear… and we meet Kovu's little sister!**


	7. Definetly Not A Good Sign

A month or so idled slowly by, revealing a more intricate web of plot than any movie could hold: I hadn't known before that young male lions routinely showed up, either seeking shelter with the pride, or challenging Simba for the right to lead that same pride. Huh- who knew?

Malia continued to be, well, a total bi-erm, _witch_, but despite her, Hodari and I started…something. It wasn't dating, it was more intense. I had felt "love" toward a few guys in high school, but that was infatuation, when I refused to see all of their faults. _This_ was love. I knew he could be immature, crude, and cranky sometimes. He knew that I had an extremely short temper, and could go off on long-winded rants about how people- even lions- could be total idiots. I'm gonna be blunt here- yes, we've slept together. No, it's none of your business! (All the rumors are true, by the way)

Anyway, after this lovely little summary, let me reflect on the day, about a month after joining the pride, that trouble began to brew.

The African sun just began to paint the savannah with a vibrant variety of bold reds and oranges as I stepped out of the den, welcoming the cerulean sky with a roll of my shoulders. Making contented little noises as the sun warmed my fur, I quickly got a drink, and came back just in time for a hunt.

"Uma, Teso!" I called to the two lionesses as they padded off, "Mind if I join?"

"Not at all," Uma smiled.

Teso, who had warmed up to me after a few weeks, guffawed, "Only if you don't trip again!"

"That wasn't tripping!" I argued, tasting the air at the same time, in search of prey, "That was a complicated tactical offensive plan that happened to not work out!"

As they nodded condescendingly, I tried to suppress laughter. It halted in my throat as I smelled something mouthwatering- gazelle. Yum! Gazelle are kind of the equivalent to burgers- not exactly high class, but pretty darn delicious either way.

"Gazelle at 12'o'clock," I hissed to the others as we all automatically dropped to our hunting crouches. Stalking forward, I barely saw Uma go to the left as Teso circled around to the right of the large herd.

When I was right on the edge of the group, I burst out of hiding, silently latching onto a huge, but injured, gazelle. It would feed the entire pride! Uma and Teso, determined not to be wasteful, saw where I was and zeroed in on helping me. Uma, who was larger, and more muscled than me, took over as I slipped from his back to needle his sides along with Teso.

After Uma bit through his spinal cord with powerful incisors, it was simple to knock him down. He was dead within minutes. The Circle of life could use some ketchup, but all in all, it tasted pretty good.

Walking back, I listened to the other's chatter, as I was the one designated to carry the kill, so my mouth was full of gazelle fur.

Suddenly, a pair of claws dug into my back, right below my shoulder muscles. Holy crap! Oww! Dropping the kill, I rolled over instinctually, trying to flatten the attacker. Another lion- male, all black, had knocked Uma's head against a rock, and was now battling with Teso, who was pretty vicious for such a petite lioness. Note: never get on her bad side.

Letting out a loud roar in an attempt to A) partially distract one of them, and/or B) Draw help from Pride Rock, which was only about 500 yards away- those lazy lionesses better not be sleeping.

Option A failed, but the male lion attacking me let out a louder roar. God, I loved fighting semi-stupid people. He just basically secured help for us with his roar- Simba would know that that roar belonged to no one that he knew. Teso caught what I was trying to do- make as much noise as possible- and tried to help.

"Damn!" the lion that was attacking me cursed as he saw Simba, Nala, and who looked like Malia racing towards us at top speed. Luckily, this back-up did what my roar hadn't- he loosened his muscles for a second.

Whipping around, he detached from my back- he also had totally black fur. This also ripped chunks of my fur out- that was gonna sting badly.

"C'mon!" he yelled to the other, and they ran, their tails flying out behind them.

"Are you all right?" Nala panted, checking us over quickly.

"Uma is worst, with a possible concussion, then Teso, that brute may have ripped some ligaments and tendons, and then me- only claws and a few bites." I reported, a little dizzy from blood loss.

"Alright," Simba ordered, "Malia, take them back to Pride Rock, Nala, come with me to make sure they go away. I'll address the pride when I return."

While they nodded decisively, Malia hoisted Uma onto her back- Uma was a lot bigger. Helping her by taking half of her weight, I saw her look surprisedly at me through the corners of her eyes. I motioned at Teso with my head to grab the gazelle, as we started to walk.

I stared blankly ahead as Pride Rock bobbed slowly closer. Other times, Malia and I may have bickered, but right now, there were more important things to worry about- things like how many outsiders were there? Why were they attacking us? And who were they? Those little things to worry about like survival, that's all.


	8. Chapter 9

**A/N: I apologize **_**extremely**_** profusely for the slow update- I moved to Germany! Yay! A portion of our stuff finally came, but right now, we are living off of FMO furniture, and we just moved out of the TLF, where we had no Internet. Now I have to learn German, which should be interesting… anyway, once again, I apologize**. **Also, beware of minor cursing this chapter.**

Hodari stumbled out of the cave, looking muddled, eyes still adjusting to the setting sun. I glanced at him, then towards Simba as he leaped onto the tip of Pride Rock. It had been four days since the attack, and in that four days, the pride uncovered some disturbing emerging troubles in the Pridelands…He roared to get our attention, but he seemed more, not quite weak, but more _tired_ than I'd ever seen him. Granted, that hadn't been very long, but it was long enough to pick up someone's general attitude.

"As you know," he started, gaining a bit more pep as he spoke, "Interlopers have begun to ravage the Pridelands. There are fewer and fewer animals every day, product of their over hunting, and the Circle of life is becoming disrupted!" he paused to rake his eyes over the small crowd gathered before him. "Will we stand for this?" he questioned, fire kindling fully in his eyes.

A roared "NO!" resounded throughout the crowd, lionesses bristling. I felt a shot of fury and anticipation shudder through my body as my hackles rose slowly, and my claws unsheathed. Haha, badass…I'd always wanted claws as a human, seeing as, well, they look awesome, and I always felt weak as a human. We couldn't fly, claw, or bite effectively.

"Are you ok?" murmured Hodari, looking at me concernedly.

"Fine," I grinned at him, pumped up and ready to go- I felt insuperable and unbeatable

Quickly catching my attitude, he smirked backed, looking quite like his father in attitude.

"We leave at dawn," Simba stated ominously, and I internally groaned at the overly-dramatic gesture. Maybe they were making another movie and needed a plot? Eh, it seemed too much like the second movie, I thought. _Life isn't a Disney movie_, I reminded myself,_ this is everyday life._

"Do we even know where they're staying?" I asked, confused at how we were going to find them.

"Zazu scouted ahead," Uma shrugged next to us, still a bit faint from the blow to her head. "I heard they were on the north west corner, next to that one thick stand of baobabs."

Hodari nodded, confirming this bit of useful gossip.

Teso joined us as we strolled into the cave, and settled down in the front- the older lionesses got the warm back of the cave.

"We should probably sleep, rest up for tomorrow," I yawned, shaking my head as my jaw opened wide.

The others agreed with various murmurs, and a grunt in Hodari's case. As I curled up net to him, I smiled slightly- life was good.

I felt shifting and rustling beside me. I opened my eyes blearily- ungh, too early. It was still dark out, the stars shining like a nightlight. I was about to curl up again besides Hodari's warm stomach, but I felt a draft on my back. Where had he gone?

I saw a tail whip around the entrance, and heard small rocks tumble down the slope as someone walked down it. Damn Hodari and his insomnia…

As I stealthily(ish) made my way to follow him, I wondered what he was doing up. He was probably nervous about the fight- I knew I was. I saw him sitting on a grassy hill just ahead, staring at the stars.

"Are the stars telling you anything?" I asked quietly as I moved to sit beside him.

He startled a bit, then calmed, heaving a loud sigh. "No, quiet as anything."

" I nuzzled him under the chin, giving him a quick lick on his cheek. "What's bugging you? It's obvious that _something_ is," I inquired, staving off the useless answer of, "Nothing,"

"The battle," he sighed again, turning to me. "What if we never see each other again? What if one of us _dies_? Anything can happen in a battle like this!" he exploded anxiously, searching in my eyes for answers, having given up on the stars.

I silenced his questions with a tender lick. "We'll be fine." I answered. "We're obviously superior- we have better fighters, we're strong and healthy, we'll be fine."

He smiled tightly, "Yeah, I hope so."

We stayed there for a few minutes, staring at the moon and stars. I mulled over what Hodari had said about one of us dying. He was right, it would b e dangerous. But what in life isn't? Even walking down the street as a human- you could get shot, mugged, murdered. A car accident, a tornado. Hell, a piano falling from a window. All were ways to die, and all could happen. Life was dangerous.

I stood and stretched, needing to sleep. Odd, but I was hungry _again_…I had just eaten before the meeting! It must have been stress or something…I was getting chubby too- I had to lay off theantelope! I flicked Hodari playfully with my tail as we reentered the den. Everyone was still sleeping peacefully, though how long the peace would last…that was another story.


	9. Chapter 10

The grass seemed to whisper at us, wishing us luck and clinging to us as the pride stalked determinedly forward, slink, prowling, ready to fight. There was a grim optimism in the air. There was no way that we could possibly lose, as I had discussed with Hodari last night. We were far superior in every way, of course we'd win. Then why did I feel dread building in my gut, my instincts screaming at my to _run, run, run_?

I pushed aside my gut instinct as my eyes focused on Simba's back as he led the way silently. I could see the baobab trees now, could smell their scent on the air, along with _their_ scent. A mixture of musk and mud, it smelled unhealthy.

As we approached, silent as the dead, I began to hear yelps and scuffling, purrs and yowls, the normal sounds of Pride Rock.

We got within 100 feet of the small group, comprised of seven males, two bearing claw marks and scratches from our…encounter, and eight females, all looking scrawny and underfed. This was good for us, but judging by how my scratches _still_ hurt, they seemed to be wiry. They all had pitch-black manes, which was extremely disconcerting, making you wonder how they had developed that…

After 100 feet, the grass thinned out and stopped, providing some warning for them of our attack.

We could hear them scoffing confidently that they could beat "those damn Pridelanders, no sweat" and how "the old geezer just doesn't have it in him anymore".

"Try not to kill them, just drive them away, but if it comes to it, they're less valuable than us." Simba breathed quietly, with a steely glint in his eye, and as we all nodded, he motioned with his tail to get ready, and- "Charge!" he yowled springing forward, sprinting towards the unprepared, gawping group of fifteen lions.

Snarls filled the air as we all darted forward, yowling battle cries.

Confusion and clawed-off fur filled the air as the two sides clashed violently- this definitely wouldn't end like movie number two- these lions wouldn't give up. The only choice left was to kill.

The battle wasn't clear-cut or understandable at all- if you saw someone you didn't know with a black mane, they were automatically your enemy. Claw, scratch, bite. I leaped on top of one lion, sinking my teeth into his neck, severing his spinal cord, paralyzing him with instant death; a mass hit me, bowling me over, snarling as I battered the lioness's stomach with my hind paws. Nala bounded over, quickly taking care of her with a claw to the jugular- warm blood spattered my face, cooling on contact.

I nodded my thanks as I surveyed the battle, looking for someone I could help. The skirmish was almost over already, like a march snowstorm- quick violent, deadly- I saw two or three of the enemy fleeing- after their leaders had fallen, I guessed that they had fallen apart. Simba finished one resilient one, and that was the end.

It had gone so fast…our numbers were thinned quite a bit, with five dead and almost everyone injured, if not fatally. I looked at the still bodies on the ground- Teso, she may have been small, but she sure was scrappy. Sarabi- always the epitome of grace and regalness, even in death she looked dignified. Kono- always there with a joke or a subtle innuendo; he could make anyone laugh, even Malia. Treca- I hadn't known her very well, just in passing, but she seemed like a nice person, a great mother. And the last one-no._Nonononono._ My mind rejected that his beautifully soft red mane was crusted with crimson blood, or that his pale fur was matted with dirt.

If he had died, _he_, of all people, I would have known, right? Hodari couldn't have died, been ruthlessly murdered, with out me feeling…something, right?

A ice cold needle pricked my bubble of surreal horrification as Nala spotted her son's body and crumpled to the ground with a keening moan.

Tears welled in my eyes as my throat became blocked by sorrow. My legs quivered as the realization hit me with a punch. Hodari was dead. What would I do now?

Well, apparently what I would do was help carry the dead back, and help Rafiki care for the wounded. It was better than sitting around and moping, however, so I kept my paws busy. I held the large leaves as he pasted the goop in cuts and scrapes, and helped create said goop from a variety of things, including some kind of red juice and crushed herbs and spices and such.

I distracted the wounded with mindless chatter as he stitched them up, my brain on autopilot while my heart ached. What was the point, now? Uma and Malia, God bless them, tried to pull me out of it, and while I smiled and conversed, they could see that inside, I was screaming in horror and couldn't stop. _Whywhywhy_?

After everyone was looked after and resting two days later, Rafiki looked at me sternly, "Now girl," he started in his thick, soothing accent, "Don'cha know not to worry? It's not good for da baby!"he clucked at me like a mother hen over her chick, while I stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What?" I screeched, albeit quietly.

"Oh- you didn't know?" he asked innocently, "Ah yes, you gonna have a child!" he grinned crazily at me, I didn't know how to take this.

He clucked at me again, "Now don'cha worry- Rafiki help!" he declared, picking up his stick and walking away, humming some tune.

The only guy I've ever done _that _with was Hodari…. I stared down at the bulge in my stomach, and up at the rising sun. "You'll be as great as your father," I murmured to the small fetus in my stomach, and I could swear it moved. Yes, this baby had great things in store for it. And with a father like that, it was expected…

The End

A/n: well, ta-da! I think it was pretty ok for my first fanfic! Please read and review, my lovelies! Now I feel like doing some Halo one-shots….


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